Are There Ghosts Among Us? That is---Ghost Writers in Social Media!
Ghost writers for blog posts and Twitter accounts are common for busy figures, particularly celebrities. There are a lot of busy figures who don't have ghost writers too--look at the goofy antics in the news! A Wired article had a facinating interview with a ghost tweeter writer, Annie Colbert. see http://prnt.in/ZfK
Colbert’s clients include starlets, sports icons, and authors and, according to the article, even one of my favorites, Guy Kawasaki, author of business books and a noted Apple evangelist. Guy has made his name in many areas in the tech field, I was not surprised but a bit disappointed to hear he has a ghost writer but I still enjoy his thinking and his advice is spot on.
What was more interesting in the article was the method of payment and how Colbert strategizes to create the voice of the client, notes who to follow, and who is following her client. She charges an unknown flat fee per month. Not only does she send tweets but she also checks sites, registrations etc. to be sure their accounts are in order. Reputation management most likely. Of course some of the tweets need vetting too; so the process is lengthly. Odds are some politicians and others wish they had a vetting system. (Oh yes, if a bad tweet goes out from your ghost writer or you, you can always say your account was "hacked." Right?)
I have heard of companies in our industry that are hiring bloggers and paying a consultant to write pithy, knowledgeable notations. (No names of course.) I have not heard of ghost tweeters in our industry. Ghost tweeters? Ghost bloggers? What do you hear? Do you care if the person you are following uses a ghost author/writer? Do you need one? Are you a ghost writer in the industry? Please write me your thoughts about ghost writing in social media.
Regards,
Mary Garnett
